ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Railways
Indian Railways starts Procurement of Power in Punjab for Northern Railway as Deemed Licensee under Open Access
“Mission 41K” document targets for saving of Rs. 41,000 Crore through integrated Rail Energy Management System by 2025
Indian Railways is now taking about 1400 MW  of power under open access as deemed licensee in 11 States
Indian Railways have been embarking upon various initiatives to reduce the cost of operations. One of the major initiative in this regard has been direct procurement of power as deemed licensee instead of consumer.
“Mission 41K” document targets for saving of Rs. 41,000 Crore through integrated Rail Energy Management System by 2025. Railway Energy Management Company Limited , a JV of Ministry of Railways and RITES Ltd., has been endeavouring to achieve this target by gradual migration from Consumer to Deemed Licensee. Deemed Licensee status enables Indian Railways to buy electricity directly from any generating company by paying wheeling charges to Central and State transmission system under open access as per The Electricity Act,2003.
In this sequence Indian Railways has commenced flow of 35 MW power in Punjab for 11 traction sub-stations w.e.f. 24.11.2019 which will result into annual estimated saving of Rs. 56 Crore per annum on recurring basis. With the addition of Punjab in the portfolio of open access, Indian Railways is now taking about 1400 MW  of power under open access as deemed licensee in 11 States. These efforts are resulting into annual saving of over Rs. 3500 Crore per annum and a total saving of over Rs. 12000 Crore since commencement of power under open access w.e.f. November’2015 onwards on business as usual mode.
These initiatives will pave the way for reducing the financial burden of Indian Railways. These efforts have resulted in keeping electricity price at most economical rate on sustainable basis since 2015 on Indian Railways.
Ministry of Labour & Employment
Cabinet approves transfer of Central Hospital at Karma, Jharkhand under the Labour Welfare Organisation for setting up a new Medical College
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved to transfer the Central Hospital at Karma, Jharkhand under the Ministry of Labour & Employment along with its land and building to the Jharkhand Government free of cost to establish a new Medical College under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme  for Establishment of Medical Colleges attached with Existing District / Referral Hospitals and cater to the health needs of the people in the region.
Implementation strategy and Targets
The Central Hospital along with its land and building will be transferred to the Jharkhand Government within 3 months. An MoU will be signed between the Ministry of Labour & Employment and the State Government outlining the modalities including transfer/absorption of Staff etc.
Major impact
The proposal shall lead to enhancement of number of doctors being trained per year in the country. It will help in the improvement of the health care infrastructure in the region resulting in better health care services available to the common people.
Beneficiaries
It will benefit all people residing in and around Karma, Jharkhand who will be provided better health care facilities.
Background
The Ministry of Labour & Employment provides health care facilities to certain categories of workers and their dependents in the unorganized sector through its Hospitals and Dispensaries. A 150 bedded Hospital  was established by the Ministry of Labour & Employment at Karma, Jharkhand to cater to the needs of Mica mine/ Beedi workers. The Government of Jharkhand submitted a proposal to transfer the Central Hospital at Karma along with its land and buildings free of cost for setting up a new Medical College in the area.
Ministry of Labour & Employment
Esic Dispensaries and Hospitals
The Total number of hospitals and dispensaries, including Dispensary cum Branch Office , run directly by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation  across the country, are 49 and 92 respectively. The list of the number of ESI beneficiaries state wise including the state of Punjab is given below:
The ESI Corporation has decided to provide access to non-insured persons/ common people as ‘other beneficiaries’ for availing medical services through its underutilised hospitals located at Alwar, , Bihta, , Gulbarga , Bareilly, Varanasi, Lucknow and Kanpur . It has also been decided to levy nominal user charges from such beneficiaries for availing the medical services.
Number of ESI beneficiaries

|
|
Sl.No.
|
|
Name of State
|
|
Beneficiaries
|
|
-
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
|
5065689
|
|
-
|
|
Assam & Meghalaya & Nagaland & Tripura & Mizoram & Manipur
|
|
1234034
|
|
-
|
|
Bihar
|
|
1317376
|
|
-
|
|
Chandigarh
|
|
651258
|
|
-
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
|
1950476
|
|
-
|
|
Delhi
|
|
6193838
|
|
-
|
|
Goa
|
|
811968
|
|
-
|
|
Gujarat
|
|
6682485
|
|
-
|
|
Haryana
|
|
9335668
|
|
-
|
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
|
1350783
|
|
-
|
|
Jammu & Kashmir
|
|
517747
|
|
-
|
|
Jharkhand
|
|
1731489
|
|
-
|
|
Karnataka
|
|
13525176
|
|
-
|
|
Kerala
|
|
4171039
|
|
-
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
|
4052427
|
|
-
|
|
Maharashtra
|
|
18230646
|
|
-
|
|
Odisha
|
|
2876593
|
|
-
|
|
Puducherry& Andaman and Nicobar Islands
|
|
456637
|
|
-
|
|
Punjab
|
|
4589613
|
|
-
|
|
Rajasthan
|
|
5528922
|
|
-
|
|
Sikkim
|
|
108562
|
|
-
|
|
Tamil Nadu
|
|
15402397
|
|
-
|
|
Telangana
|
|
7121197
|
|
-
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
|
9499482
|
|
-
|
|
Uttarakhand
|
|
2498953
|
|
-
|
|
West Bengal
|
|
7574808
|
|
|
|
All India
|
|
132479263
This information was given by Minister of State  for Labour & Employment Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
DD FreeDish emerges as a platform for National Outreach
Public and National Outreach to the masses across India through television has received a tremendous boost with the DD FreeDish Platform. Staying true to its public service mandate, Prasar Bharati’s DD FreeDish had stood out in serving the people during the pandemic by enabling massive public outreach and dissemination through its platform. While traditional education system struggled due to the pandemic, DD FreeDish had then come to the rescue by providing a platform for multiple educational channels, thus ensuring continuing education to students across India. Recent viewership data has further revealed the central role being played by DD FreeDish as a platform for public and national outreach through television across India.
Of the universe of TV Viewership for Pariksha Pe Charcha 2022, 33% of the viewers watched the event on various TV channels available on the DD FreeDish platform. It is to be noted that several industry estimates have pegged the install base of DD FreeDish at around 20% of the total TV households in India. Further underlining the importance of DD FreeDish for national outreach is the fact that 26% of the viewers of the Republic Day Parade 20ed it on various channels available on DD FreeDish.
Public outreach through DD FreeDish
Initiated by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government in early 2000s, DD FreeDish, then known as DD Direct Plus, was subsequently launched in 2004. After being revamped during the Narendra Modi-led NDA government era, the platform saw rapid growth in recent years. Over the past 7 years, since 2015, the subscription base of DD FreeDish has expanded significantly by more than 100%. According to recent FICCI-EY 2022 report, DD FreeDish has emerged as the largest platform in the TV distribution industry with reach to more than 43 Million households while some analysts estimate it to be even higher.
Prasar Bharati’s DTH service DD FreeDish is the only Free-to-Air  Direct-To-Home  Service where the viewer doesn’t have to pay any monthly subscription fee. It only requires a small one time investment of about Rs. 2000 for purchase of the DD FreeDish set-top box. https://prasarbharati.gov.in/free-dish/
The current channel line-up on DD FreeDish includes a total of 167 TV channels and 48 Radio channels, including 91 Doordarshan channels  and 76 private TV channels.
Watch the explainer short video below which guides on how to set up DD FreeDish set-top box to receive the latest line-up of channels.
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
Directorate General of Training  launches Bharatskills Forum, a digital knowledge-sharing platform for the ITIs’ trainees, trainers and industry
A new feature called the Bharatskills Forum has been added to the Bharatskills learning platform developed by DGT that allows sharing of books, notes, videos, question bank, etc., and other relevant skill-related content for learners. This facility shall act as a digital warehouse for the skilling community by allowing sharing of contents in various forms like handwritten trainers’ or trainees’ notes, PDFs, scanned copies, or recorded videos in any language.
The Directorate General of Training  in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship  is the apex organisation for development and coordination at national level for the programmes relating to vocational training. DGT in Oct 2019 had launched an online learning platform called the Bharatskills , a Central Digital Repository for the trainees and trainers of the ITI ecosystem, providing easy access to updated curriculum, e-books, Question Banks, mock/practice papers, learning videos, etc., for courses under the Craftsmen Training Scheme , Craft Instructor Training Scheme  and the Apprenticeship Training Scheme , thus enabling anytime, anywhere learning outside the classrooms. This platform presents unique access to a centralized, scalable, and thriving support ecosystem through its industrial partners for the students and teachers who can now learn the new age  skills to meet the demands of the industry.
The usage of Bharatskills learning platform has increased multi-fold from around 90,000 users in March 2020 to more than 48 Lakh unique users having accessed the portal and over 1.75 crores hits as of date.
The Bharatskills Forum  was launched today by Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, MSDE in the presence of Ms. Trishaljit Sethi, Director General/ AS, DGT. On the occasion, Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari while sharing his views said that the learning platform of Bharatskills has now opened a two-way, unique facility for the trainers, trainees and those interested in skill training, for sharing relevant content within the skill community. We can say that the Bharatskills Forum is for the Skill Community and at the same time, by the Skill Community, he added.
Competition Commission of India
Competition Commission of India finds the conduct and practice of Jaiprakash Associates Limited to be in contravention of Competition Law
The Competition Commission of India  has found Jaiprakash Associates Limited  to be in contravention of the provisions of Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2002  for abuse of dominant position in the market of independent residential units such as villas, estate homes in their integrated township, by imposing unfair/ discriminatory conditions on the allottees in Wish Town, Jaypee Greens project, in Noida and Greater Noida.
The final order was passed on an information filed by a buyer who alleged that conditions imposed by JAL were arbitrary and heavily tilted in favour of it.
Based on the investigation, the Commission found that the standard terms and conditions imposed by JAL were one-sided and couched in a manner so as to unilaterally favour itself and be unfavourable to the consumers. Moreover, terms were vague and did not confer any substantive rights on the buyers. The conduct of JAL, such as collecting money/charges from the buyers without delivering the residential/dwelling unit on time, adding additional construction and amending /altering the layout plans, imposition of various charges, right to raise finance from any bank/financial institution/body corporate without consulting buyers was held to be abusive.
Therefore, the Commission concluded such conduct of JAL to be in violation of Section 4 of the Act. Resultantly, the Commission imposed a penalty of Rs. 13.82 crore  on JAL. The penalty was calculated @ 5% of the average revenue of JAL from sale of independent residential units in the relevant market. Besides, a cease and desist order has also been issued to JAL.
A copy of the order passed in Case No. 99 of 2014 under Section 27 of the Act has been uploaded on the website of CCI at www.cci.gov.in.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Commerce Minister Meets World Bank Team
Commerce Minister with World Bank team
Minister of Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, met with the World Bank team in New Delhi on Thursday. The team was led by Ms. Caroline Freund, Director of Trade, Regional Integration and Investment Climate and Junaid Ahmad, Country Director for the World Bank in India. Discussions were held to explore ways to strengthen World Bank support towards India's development with collaboration in specific areas of trade, logistics and investment.
The Minister highlighted the work being done by the Ministry for developing a National Integrated Logistic Policy . The Policy will focus on increasing the capacity of storage and warehousing and other value added services. Multimodal logistics parks, integrating various transportation modes, are also being developed right up to the district level. The Minister also highlighted the work being done by the Ministry towards identifying specific products and markets to increase India's exports by USD 100 bn. He underlined the need for understanding product specific supply chains for India to integrate effectively into global supply chains. The  will reduced the cost of goods and make Indian product more competitive.
In the meeting it was agreed that a workshop will be conducted with World Bank and concerned Ministries in order to identify specific interventions required to streamline logistics in the country with an aim to integrate Indian products into Global value chains.
Prime Minister's Office
PM congratulates Manoj Sarkar for winning Bronze medal in Badminton at Paralympics Games
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has congratulated Manoj Sarkar for winning Bronze medal in Badminton at the Paralympics Games in Tokyo.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said;
"Overjoyed by @manojsarkar07’s wonderful performance. Congrats to him for bringing home the prestigious Bronze Medal in badminton. Wishing in the very best for the times ahead. #Paralympics #Praise4Para"
Ministry of Power
NTPC team wins GOLD award in 47th ICQCC-2022
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|
•The theme for ICQCC-2022 is “Built Back Better through Quality Efforts”.
•NTPC QC Team gets presented on “Frequent Choking of Collecting tanks of AHP-IV”.
NTPC QCC ABHYUDAYA receives "GOLD" award in ICQCC-2022
NTPC’s QC Team from Unchahar ABHYUDAYA has won the "GOLD" award in the 47th International Convention on Quality Control Circle . The convention is being held from 15th-18th November in Jakarta. The theme for ICQCC-2022 was “Built Back Better through Quality Efforts”.
NTPC QC Team presented on "Frequent Choking of Collecting tanks of AHP-IV".
The QC team members - Shri Reyaz Ahamad , Shri Mahesh Chandra, Shri Virendra Kumar Yadav and Shri Laxmi Kant worked relentlessly towards providing unique, pragmatic, and quality solutions to the problem at hand.
In March 2022, NTPC had been declared the “Dream Employer of the Year” at the 30th Session of the World HRD Congress. NTPC’s efforts to create a future-ready workforce were recognized when NTPC was selected as a 2022 ATD BEST award winner by The Association for Talent Development , USA. The awards and recognitions are a testimony that people practices at NTPC are at par with the best companies in the world.
Ministry of Defence
Posts Open for Women in Defence Forces
Women officers are commissioned into Corps of Engineers , Corps of Signals , Army Air Defence , Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps , Electrical and Mechanical Engineering , Army Education Corps , Judge Advocate General  Department, Intelligence Corps , Army Aviation , Army Medical Corps , Army Dental Corps  and Military Nursing Service  branches of the Indian Army. Also, women are being enrolled as other ranks  in Corps of Military Police  @ 100 women per year, beginning from recruiting year 2019-20.
In pursuance of the Judgement dated 17th February, 2020 passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the Government is committed to grant Permanent Commission to Short Service Commission  women officers in Indian Army as per their qualification, professional experience, specialization, if any and organizational requirement.
Women in the Indian Navy are inducted, on gender neutral basis, in various Branches/Specialisations/Cadres viz. Executive Branch [Logistics, Law, ATC, Pilot , Naval Armament Inspectorate, Sports, Musician and Observer], Engineering Branch  and Education Branch. In addition, Directorate General of Medical Services  also inducts women in Medical, Dental and Military Nursing Service. In Indian Navy, posts are not classified in terms of administrative or combat post. Naval units are either sea going or non-sea going. Women are inducted in non-sea going Branches/Cadres/Specialisations. However, women officers are posted in MR Air Squadrons where they are in a combat role and are tasked to operate weapon and sensor suite.
All posts in the Indian Air Force  are open to all officers including women subject to vacancies, willingness, suitability, medical fitness and merit as per the policies in vogue. All officers in the IAF including women are combatants by definition, who may also hold administrative positions at various stages in their career.
Posts which are not yet open to women in Indian Army are in the Armoured Corps , Infantry , Mechanised Infantry  and Artillery .
Women in Indian Navy are not being inducted in the sea going avenues viz. Executive Branch , Engineering Branch  and Electrical Branch.
In Indian Air Force, the recruitment in Airmen Cadre is carried out only for male candidates presently.
This information was given by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Shripad Naik in a written reply to Shri Tiruchi Siva in Rajya Sabha today.
ABB/SS/Nampi/KA/DK/Savvy
(Visitor Counter : 1843
Prime Minister's Office
PM reviews development work at Kedarnath Dham
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today reviewed the development work going on in Kedarnath Dham and also the ongoing efforts to further increase the divinity of the Dham.
The discussions centred around furthering the divinity of Kedarnath temple and Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya's samadhi sthal, maintaining swachhata and ensuring extensive development. The review also focussed on ensuring that travellers get all facilities on the Gaurikund-Kedarnath route and arrangements be made to showcase the historical and cultural significance of the pilgrimage through technology.
Ministry of Defence
Curtain Raiser – Beating the Retreat 2021
This year, Indian tunes will be the flavour of ‘Beating the Retreat’ ceremony tomorrow on January 29, 2021. As many as 26 performances at the historic Vijay Chowk will enthral the spectators with captivating and foot-tapping music of the bands from the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and Central Armed Police Forces . The entry band will be Massed Band with Swarnim Vijay theme. It will be Special new composition to commemorate 50 years of victory of India in the 1971 war against Pakistan. This will be followed by Pipes & Drums Band, CAPF Bands, Air Force Band, Naval Band, Army Mil Band and Massed Bands. The event will come to a close with the ever-popular tune of ‘Sare Jahan se Acha’.
The ceremony at the Vijay Chowk on January 29 every year marks the culmination of the four-day long Republic Day celebrations. This year, 15 Military Bands and 15 Pipes & Drums Bands from Regimental Centres and Battalions are participating in Beating the Retreat ceremony. Besides, one each of Indian Navy and Indian Air Force band will also form part of the event. Another band of Centre A P F will also take part.
The principal conductor of Beating the Retreat ceremony will be Lt Col Girish Kumar U of AEC Training College & Centre.
“Beating Retreat” is a centuries old military tradition dating from the days when troops disengaged from battle at Sunset. As soon as the buglers sounded the ‘retreat’, the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and withdrew from the battlefield. It is for this reason that the custom of standing still during the sounding of retreat has been retained to this day. Colours and standards are cased and flags lowered at retreats.
Drumbeats are recall of the days when troops, billeted in towns and cities were recalled to their quarters at an appointed time in the evening. Based on these military traditions, the ceremony of “Beating Retreat” creates a mood of nostalgia of the times gone by.
ABB/Nampi/KA/DK/ADA
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Ministry of Coal
Ministry of Coal Sets up Committee to Review Benchmarking Timelines in Project Execution
The Ministry of Coal has set up a Committee today under the Chairmanship of Joint Secretary &Financial Advisor comprising of representatives from NTPC, IOCL, PGCIL and Director , ECL as member secretary for review and benchmarking the timelines in project execution including tendering process by examining tenders having value of more than Rs.300 crores of CIL, its subsidiaries and other PSUs.
The above Committee has been set up with a view to suggest a robust and efficient set of timelines and whether statutory clearances may be obtained prior to issuing tender.
Special Service and Features
Plantation Drive organized at the Port
V.O. Chidambaranar Port, Tuticorin, organised a plantation drive on 2nd October 2021, in commemoration of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Indian nation and in consonance with Government of India's initiative ' Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', to commemorate the 75th year of Indian Independence.
The event commenced with planting of a sapling by Shri T.K. Ramachandran, IAS, Chairman, V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust, at Port’s School premises. More than 100 saplings were planted by Heads of the Department, officers and staff of the Port and Port’s School teachers. The program was organized adhering all precautionary measures like maintaining social distance and wearing mask, in view of COVID-19 pandemic.
Port has already developed greenery at an area of 620 acres and landscaping at various installations of the Port at an area of 7.6 acres. As a commitment towards ‘Maritime India Vision 2030’, of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, the Port has proposed to develop greenbelt by planting around 10,000 saplings in the Port area, to reduce carbon footprint, attenuate noise pollution and improve air quality.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri T.K. Ramachandran, IAS, Chairman, VOC Port stated that “Resonating with the spirit to become the ‘First Green Port of India’, V.O. Chidambaranar Port has advocated for green growth to optimize available water, air, land, soil, and societal space, as a way to move towards sustainable development and to pursue economic growth & development.
The above details were furnished in a Press Release by V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust today.